Health of Gay & Straight People Compared in 1st of Its Kind Survey

Below:

Next story in Science

Lesbian, gay and bisexual people may be more likely to smoke,
drink excessively and experience serious psychological distress,
compared with heterosexual people, but in some other
health-related areas, they fare better, according to a new report
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The report marks the first time that the CDC has looked at health
disparities among lesbian, gay and bisexual populations on a
national level. CDC researchers recently added an option for
people participating in the agency's National Health Interview
Survey to indicate their
sexual orientation.

The survey, conducted in 2013, included nearly 35,000 adults.
Among the participants, 96.6 percent identified themselves as
straight, while 1.6 percent identified as gay or lesbian, and 0.7
percent
identified as bisexual. The remaining 1.1 percent didn't
select any of the options.

The researchers found that a higher percentage of gay or lesbian
(35.1 percent) and bisexual people (41.5 percent) said they had
five or more drinks in one day at least once in the past year,
compared with those who identified themselves as straight (26
percent). Similarly, a higher percentage of gay, lesbian and
bisexual people than straight participants reported being
smokers. [ 5
Myths About Gay People Debunked ]

In addition, a higher percentage of bisexual people (11 percent)
experienced serious psychological distress in the past 30
days than their counterparts who identified as straight (3.9
percent), according to the report,
released today (July 15) by the CDC.

The researchers didn't find differences in people's levels of
physical activity, or the percentage of all people reporting that
they were in excellent or good health, based on sexual
orientation. However, among women, a higher percentage of
straight women (63.3 percent) than lesbians (54 percent) said
they were in excellent or very good health.

The CDC researchers cautioned that although the report is based
on a relatively large and nationally representative group of
people, the number of participants who identified as gay or
lesbian or bisexual is still relatively small, and some of the
estimates may not be reliable.

Although
differences in people's health based on their race and
ethnicity, sex and income level are well-documented, less is
known about how sexual orientation may be linked with health.
Several states added sexual orientation questions to their health
surveys beginning in the early 2000s, even though they faced a
lot of resistance, said Julia Dilley, an epidemiologist at Oregon
Health Authority, Public Health Division.

"People were afraid of political backlash. They were also
concerned that people wouldn't accurately report their sexual
orientation," Dilley said.

Now, the inclusion of sexual orientation in the national health
interview survey will enable researchers to find and better
address problems among different populations. Sexual orientation
can be important information, particularly in some areas of
health, such as smoking, where sexual minorities are at higher
risk, independent of their other characteristics, such as race or
economic status.

"It does seem like sexual orientation has an independent
influence on disparities, and adds on top of any disparity that
the person is experiencing," Dilley told Live Science.

The findings of the new national report are in line with the
findings of previous state-level studies, said Dilley, who wasn't
involved with the new report. Researchers have found differences
between sexual minorities and straight people when it comes to
access and use of health care. In the new report, for example, a
lower percentage of lesbian or bisexual women said they had a
usual place to go for medical care, compared with straight women.
In contrast, straight people were more likely than gay or
bisexual people to report they didn't seek medical attention
because of the cost.

It is difficult to pinpoint what's driving the differences in
health behaviors such as smoking and alcohol consumption, as well
as health care access and
psychological well-being among homosexuals and the general
population, but social stressors and barriers to access to health
care could be among the underlying reasons, said Kari Greene,
another researcher with Oregon Health Authority.

"There's certainly a lot of social stress for people who are
living in places where they are being treated unequally based on
their sexual orientation," Greene said. "We also definitely have
unequal access to health care benefits, for people who are living
in places where health care benefits are not translated to
same-sex spouses."